| / English Dictionary |
DENIAL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Renunciation of your own interests in favor of the interests of others
Synonyms:
abnegation; denial; self-abnegation; self-denial; self-renunciation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("denial" is a kind of...):
forgoing; forswearing; renunciation (the act of renouncing; sacrificing or giving up or surrendering (a possession or right or title or privilege etc.))
self-sacrifice; selflessness (acting with less concern for yourself than for the success of the joint activity)
Derivation:
deny (deny oneself (something); restrain, especially from indulging in some pleasure)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A defendant's answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against him
Example:
he gave evidence for the defense
Synonyms:
defence; defense; demurrer; denial
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("denial" is a kind of...):
due process; due process of law ((law) the administration of justice according to established rules and principles; based on the principle that a person cannot be deprived of life or liberty or property without appropriate legal procedures and safeguards)
Domain category:
jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "denial"):
entrapment (a defense that claims the defendant would not have broken the law if not tricked into doing it by law enforcement officials)
Holonyms ("denial" is a part of...):
trial ((law) the determination of a person's innocence or guilt by due process of law)
Derivation:
deny (deny formally (an allegation of fact by the opposing party) in a legal suit)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The act of asserting that something alleged is not true
Synonyms:
denial; disaffirmation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("denial" is a kind of...):
assertion; asseveration; averment (a declaration that is made emphatically (as if no supporting evidence were necessary))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "denial"):
negation (the speech act of negating)
Derivation:
deny (declare untrue; contradict)
Sense 4
Meaning:
The act of refusing to comply (as with a request)
Example:
it resulted in a complete denial of his privileges
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("denial" is a kind of...):
speech act (the use of language to perform some act)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "denial"):
abnegation (the denial and rejection of a doctrine or belief)
naysaying (the act of saying no to a request)
negative (a reply of denial)
refusal (the act of refusing)
disavowal; disclaimer (denial of any connection with or knowledge of)
Derivation:
deny (refuse to grant, as of a petition or request)
Sense 5
Meaning:
(psychiatry) a defense mechanism that denies painful thoughts
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("denial" is a kind of...):
defence; defence mechanism; defence reaction; defense; defense mechanism; defense reaction ((psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires)
Domain category:
psychiatry; psychological medicine; psychopathology (the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders)
Context examples:
I would not attempt to force the confidence of any one; of a child much less; because a sense of duty would prevent the denial which her wishes might direct.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
"Think of what his income affords him. His early denials are paid for a thousand-fold."
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
I had hitherto supposed him to be the murderer of my brother, and I eagerly sought a confirmation or denial of this opinion.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
One by one several of the passengers offered me gifts, which they pressed upon me with an earnestness which would take no denial; these were certainly of an odd and varied kind, but each was given in simple good faith, with a kindly word, and a blessing, and that strange mixture of fear-meaning movements which I had seen outside the hotel at Bistritz—the sign of the cross and the guard against the evil eye.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Even the old chief met us with the same obstinate denial, and it was only Maretas, the youngster whom we had saved, who looked wistfully at us and told us by his gestures that he was grieved for our thwarted wishes.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
She rated Lady Russell's influence highly; and as to the severe degree of self-denial which her own conscience prompted, she believed there might be little more difficulty in persuading them to a complete, than to half a reformation.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
So determined was their denial that the inspector was staggered, and had almost come to believe that Mrs. St. Clair had been deluded when, with a cry, she sprang at a small deal box which lay upon the table and tore the lid from it.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Heaven reward you for your kindness and self-denial! said Hans, as he gave the butcher the cow; and taking the pig off the wheel-barrow, drove it away, holding it by the string that was tied to its leg.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
And would Edmund's judgment, would his persuasion of Sir Thomas's disapprobation of the whole, be enough to justify her in a determined denial in spite of all the rest?
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
"Oh no, please don't, I'd rather not," she said, trying to withdraw her hand, and looking frightened in spite of her denial.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
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